1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image printing apparatus for printing images on the basis of an image file, and to technology for sending and receiving images files to and from a data management device managing image files, which is connected to an image printing apparatus via the Internet.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In the field of providing photography-related services, a photographer takes a film from a camera, or a memory card from a digital camera, to a mini-lab store, and photographs are developed and printed, or the like, on the basis of the image data (image files) contained on the film or memory card, by means of a prescribed printing control device situated in the mini-lab store.
Conventionally, a printing control device of this kind, a personal computer (hereinafter, called a “PC”) located in a normal home, and a prescribed image management device which centrally manages image files uploaded from the printing control device or a PC, are mutually connected by means of the Internet, and an image management system is formed by connection of these devices.
In particular, in the printing control device of such an image management system, an image file corresponding to a photograph is uploaded from the printing control device to a prescribed URL (Uniform Resource Locator) on the image management device, and a photographer is able to search for the image managed by the image management device, by accessing the corresponding URL from a PC.
However, in a conventional image management system as described above, in order that the PC user (photographer) can access an image file managed by the image management device, the operator of the printing control device (an employee of the mini-lab store) must indicate the URL corresponding to the directory generated in the image printing apparatus during upload, to the PC user, and must also manage URLs for a large number of users, and hence the tasks required of the operator of the printing control device are very complicated.